Show Report
ACS 2008
Review
The American Coatings Show drew
some 5,600 attendees to Charlotte,
NC while 750 took part in the
American Coatings Conference.
The launch of the American
Coatings Show and Conference,
held June 2-5, 2008 at the
Charlotte Convention Center in
Charolotte, NC, marked the beginning
of a new era for the coatings industry
in the U.S. The event was hosted and
organized by the National Paint and
Coatings Association (NPCA) and
Hanover, Germany-based Vincentz
Network, while the coordination of the
trade show was overseen by
NurnbergMesse North America based
in Atlanta, a U.S. subsidiary of
NurnbergMesse.
After much anticipation the event
proved to live up to the hype.
Approximately 5,600 visitors from
roughly 48 countries were on hand to
gather information from the 331
exhibitors who displayed a comprehensive range of products and services related to all aspects of paint and
coatings formulation in 68,000
AMERICAN COATINGS AWARD GOES TO JAMES RAWLINS’ TEAM
During the American Coatings Conference, the NPCA and Vincentz
Network presented the first American Coatings Award to lead author
James Rawlins of the School of Polymers and High Performance
Materials at the University of Southern Mississippi and his co-authors
Michael Blanton and Pirro Cipi of the University of Southern
Mississippi, and C. Steven McDaniel, Melinda Wales and Juan Carlo
Carvajal, Reactive Surfaces Ltd.,
for their paper entitled, “Letting
Mother Nature Tackle the Dirty
Work: The Future of Coatings
Additives.” The jury selected it for
the award, which is endowed with
$2,500 and a sculpture, from
among 170 submissions. The paper
explores how increased levels of
understanding about enzymes and
peptides, traditionally viewed as
functionally restricted to very narrow environmental conditions,
have led to the development of
innovative, bio-engineered “smart”
additives for paints and coatings.
2008 AC Award winner James
Rawlins displays his trophy.
square feet of exhibition space.
Seventy-nine percent of the 5,600
visitors were from the U.S., while
four percent came from Canada and
the remaining 17% from other countries and regions, including Mexico,
Brazil, Japan and India, as well the
European Union, the Middle East
and Australia.
In its closing report, the NPCA and
Vincentz reported that nine out of
every ten visitors to the American
Coatings Show reported having
responsibility for procurement decisions at their companies, and 39% of
visitors signed one or several business deals at the 2008 show. Top reasons for attending included gathering information about new products
(44%), developing new prospects and
strengthening relationships with
existing contacts (40-41%), sharing
expertise (39%) and furthering professional development (28%; multiple
responses allowed).
Trade visitors gave the American
Coatings Show 2008 top marks: 98%
were satisfied with the exhibitors’ presentations, while 100% appreciated
the information and contact opportunities at the booths, as well as the overall organization of the show and the
services provided. New products and
innovations awaited trade visitors at
half the booths, and approximately
75% of visitors expressed an interest in
using the new products in their businesses. For some 50%, the American
